1953 NERC Season

The 1953 NERC Season was the 7th season of the North-Eastern Runty Championship, the first professional runty league in the world. The league's 10 teams all faced each other home and away for a duration of 18 weeks.

In the Champions Cup, the Manhattan Archers defeated the Buffalo Panthers in 2 games to capture their second title in three years.

Regular Season
The NERC’s 8th season began on May 2, 1953, with all 10 of the league’s teams playing at the traditional 3:00 time slot. Like each previous season, the regular season consisted of each team playing each other home-and-away. Once again, there were no bye weeks

The opening week of games for the most part was pretty exciting. First, Staten Island edged out the Scholars, 25-21. The defending Champions Cup finalists both lost their opening games at home. Boston fell 28-25 to Westchester, while the Archers lost 32-25 to the Panthers. The Bronx absolutely destroyed Brooklyn 40-17, and the Clippers handily beat the Knights 37-25.

Games of the Week
Week 1: Westchester 28-25 Boston

Week 2: the Bronx 26-28 Buffalo

Week 3: Hempstead 30-29 Westchester

Week 4: the Bronx 21-22 Manhattan

Week 5: New York 21-27 Buffalo

Week 6: the Bronx 25-29 Hempstead

Week 7: Boston 25-26 Manhattan

Week 8: Westchester 21-23 New York

Week 9: Buffalo 26-33 Hempstead

Week 10: Manhattan 24-21 Buffalo

Week 11: Westchester 27-29 Staten Island

Week 12: the Bronx 29-26 Boston

Week 13: Brooklyn 29-25 Westchester

Week 14: the Bronx 20-19 Columbia Alumni

Week 15: New York 25-23 Boston

Week 16: the Bronx 24-27 New York

Week 17: Boston 30-32 Hempstead

Week 18: Hempstead 31-34 Buffalo

1. MANHATTAN ARCHERS

Leading Goalscorer: Van German (27)

Finishing at the top of the league for the second time in three years were the Manhattan Archers. Despite not having the best offense or defense, they still were the most consistent team in the league, and they were consistently good. After losing their first game, they won their next 14 straight, only 4 of which were by a goal or less. However, they ended the season on a 3-game losing skid, including a 48-24 to the hands of Boston. Nonetheless, it was another impressive season for the Archers, who looked to clinch a third straight Champions Cup berth in the playoffs.

2. BUFFALO PANTHERS

Leading Goalscorer: Des Samuel (27)

Finishing second was a big surprise, the Buffalo Panthers. The group played much better as a team compared to their 9th-place finish in 1952. Des Samuel led the team up front again, but injury troubles prevented him from claiming a third straight goalscoring title. Artie Booth had a rebound year as the team’s main playmaker, leading the league in assists. Overall, the Panthers played well, but many analysts agreed that their 12-6 record made them look better than they actually were throughout the season.

3. BOSTON RIDERS

Leading Goalscorer: Hornet Spearing (18)

Coming in third were the defending champion Boston Riders. Unlike the Panthers, analysts were convinced that their record made them look like a worse team than they were. They finished with the highest-scoring offense in the league, as well as the highest point differential. Rookie Hornet Spearing was a big surprise, leading the team in goals. Eric Moncton also had an impressive season, and worked himself into the conversation for best midfielder in the league. The Riders finished at 11-7, taking the third seed off a tiebreaker.

4. HEMPSTEAD CLIPPERS

Leading Goalscorer: Perseus Whitney (32)

Finishing fourth was a bit of a surprise, as the Hempstead Clippers ended a three-year playoff drought. A big part of this was their play at home, as they went 7-2 at Core Meadows. However, their play away from home was subpar, finishing below 0.500. A big surprise for the Clippers was the emergence of Perseus Whitney up front, who led the league in goals in his second season. Overall, it was considered a successful season for Hempstead, who were looking to build on this success for future seasons.

5. THE BRONX BEARS

Leading Goalscorer: Lucas Sizemore (23)

Finishing 5th and frustratingly missing the playoffs for the third straight year were the Bronx Bears. They did so much right, including scoring the second-most and allowing the fewest points in the whole league, but they just couldn’t recover after a dreadful 1-5 start. Even winning their last two games wasn’t enough, as a Riders win in Week 18 eliminated them. Lucas Sizemore was the team’s leader, but these playoff misses were making him unhappy. The team was convinced they would be able to get him to stay for 1954. The Bears finished at 10-8.

6. COLUMBIA ALUMNI SCHOLARS

Leading Goalscorer: Duke Jones (18)

Finishing 6th were the Scholars, who dropped off after a surprising 1952 season. They didn’t score that many points, but they also didn’t give up that many points. One example of this was a 16-14 win over the Racers in Week 16, the lowest-scoring game in the league for the year. The Scholars also saw a large turnover in players, as a good amount of their lower-skilled players weren’t looking to play Runty full-time, but instead play as a side hustle as they looked for full-time opportunities in other fields. This uncertainty definitely took a toll, as CA finished at 8-8-2.

7. NEW YORK KNIGHTS

Leading Goalscorer: Perry Cisseaton (21)

Finishing in 7th and missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year were the New York Knights. They had a slow start, only winning 2 of their first 12 games. Despite basically being eliminated by that point, they caught fire to end the year, going 4-0-2 to close out. Two of those wins also came against playoff teams, as they beat both Boston and Buffalo. Perry Cisseaton had a breakout year up front, becoming the first Knights player to kick 5 goals in a game. The Knights looked to build on their late run for future seasons, as they finished at 6-9-3.

8. BROOKLYN DEVILS

Leading Goalscorer: Manny Ramirez (16)

Finishing 8th and improving over a last-place finish were the Brooklyn Devils. While there were still growing pains (like a 40-17 loss to start the year), opposing teams definitely agreed that they were a better team. They were the only team besides Buffalo to beat the 1st-place Archers at home, and Manhattan coach Ed James said “They’re one of the toughest teams I’ve ever played”. The Devils, unlike their their fellow expansion teams, were looking to take the long route to build a contender. Brooklyn finished at 7-11.

9. WESTCHESTER RACERS

Leading Goalscorer: Barney Ferguson (10)

Finishing in 9th after a playoff berth the previous season were the Westchester Racers. Their playoff berth in 1952 was seen as a fluke, and their 1953 season confirmed those suspicions. Despite starting at 3-1, they would only win one more game for the rest of the year. It was described as a “total collapse”. They managed to keep games close, but when they actually had opportunities to take the lead, they couldn’t do anything. Overall, it was a frustrating season for Westchester, who finished at 4-13-1.

10. STATEN ISLAND ISLANDERS

Leading Goalscorer: Arnold Sutars (9)

Finishing in last for the 6th time in 8 years were the Staten Island Islanders. It was a familiar place for them, but still disappointing, as their past two seasons gave them so much hope for the future. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t score to save their lives. They averaged just over 20 points per games, a full 2.8 points less than the next-closest team. The Islanders also had a high roster turnover rate, with players coming and going every week. Staten Island finished at 4-14.

Notable Events
-   The NERC announced the creation of a referee tribunal, where consequences for incorrect officiating could be handed down on guilty referees.

-   Boston’s score of 48 in week 16 was the highest score by one team in a game since 1947.

-   In the week 4 game between Manhattan and the Bronx, Archers player Marvin Grazer sucker punched Bears player Dallas Uggeri away from the play, leading to a line brawl between every player on both team, as well as some fans. Grazer was suspended for the next two seasons without pay.

-   Westchester player Patrick Kunlel accidentally showed up at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Ave. Park instead of his Racers’ Yonkers Ave. Links for week 9. To make matters worse, he was hit by a car on his way out of the stadium. He suffered minor injuries as a result.

-   The league cracked down on hits away from the play, and in their findings, discovered that two Manhattan players had been paid under the table to target specific opposing players. Those two players were suspended for three seasons.

-   Late in the season Staten Island players threatened to not play after one of the team’s most beloved employees was let go. He was hastily re-hired, and the team played the rest of the season without trouble.

-   Manhattan suffered from even more off-field drama during the year, as a front office employee was suspended for one year after physically threatening a referee.